Last month, the European Commission's Consumer Affairs agency released its annual report and found that China was the source of nearly half (48 percent) of all banned products last year. The Bad Guys blog asked for similar data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which oversees consumer goods, and got the exact same percentage: Last year, Chinese products accounted for 48 percent of the 466 recalls made by the CPSC. That's an increase over 2005, when China also notched first place (with 42 percent of 407 recalls). Most of the banned products are toys and electronics. (Other agencies watch over imports of cars, food, and drugs.)

CPSC officials acknowledge the concern over Chinese products and say they've prioritized working with their counterparts in Beijing. But they also caution that the increase in recalls is due, at least in part, to the sheer volume of Chinese goods flooding the U.S. market.

"We recognize that China has now taken the top spot," says CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. "It's for that reason that we're going to China and that Chinese government officials are coming to the U.S. We also talk to the manufacturers and the trading centers to ensure that they understand that the products they make must meet U.S. safety standards."

But U.S. inspectors and safety regulators are notoriously short staffed, say critics, who charge that the Bush administration has sacrificed safety standards to satisfy corporate backers. A coalition of consumer groups recently came out against the White House's nominee to head the CPSC, Michael Baroody, now executive VP of the National Association of Manufacturers. Among those joining in was former CPSC Commissioner R. David Pittle, who cited Baroody's "long history as a partisan advocate on behalf of manufacturers against his total lack of any experience advancing product safety or the interests of consumers." Not so, counters NAM President John Engler, who says Baroody is "eminently qualified" and will bring "impartial judgment" to the CPSC.

Whoever ends up at the helm, watchdogging had better be at the top of the agenda. Each year, according to Consumers Union, there are over 27,000 deaths and 33 million injuries tied to products under the CSPC's jurisdiction.